title: Human performance under two different command and control paradigms.
abstract: The paradoxical behaviour of a new command and control concept called Network Enabled Capability (NEC) provides the motivation for this paper. In it, a traditional hierarchical command and control organisation was pitted against a network centric alternative on a common task, played thirty times, by two teams. Multiple regression was used to undertake a simple form of time series analysis. It revealed that whilst the NEC condition ended up being slightly slower than its hierarchical counterpart, it was able to balance and optimise all three of the performance variables measured (task time, enemies neutralised and attrition). From this it is argued that a useful conceptual response is not to consider NEC as an end product comprised of networked computers and standard operating procedures, nor to regard the human system interaction as inherently stable, but rather to view it as a set of initial conditions from which the most adaptable component of all can be harnessed: the human.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Infrastructure and the Environment, School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. Electronic address: G.H.Walker@hw.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Guy H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Neville A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Stanton
authors.affiliation: University of the Sunshine Coast Accident Research (USCAR), Faculty of Arts and Business, QLD 4558, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.affiliation: Sociotechnic Systems Ltd., St. Albans, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D005717:Games, Experimental; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D012919:Social Behavior; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Command and control; System design and evaluation; Time series analysis